Galatasaray vs St Johnstone Predictions

• Galatasaray won their final three home games at the end of last season.
• St Johnstone were held to a 0-0 draw at Ross County in their season opener.
• Both teams have scored in seven of Galatasaray’s last eight home games.

Saints face tough task in Turkey

St Johnstone head to Istanbul to face Galatasaray in the third round of Europa League qualifying on Thursday and it could be a long night for the Scottish Premiership side.

The Saints finished in fifth place in Scotland’s top tier last season but established themselves as a cup team by landing both the Scottish Cup and the League Cup in Callum Davidson’s first game in charge.

St Johnstone started the new season with a 0-0 draw at Ross County but they were arguably unlucky not to come away with all three points, as they missed a penalty and dominated for large periods.

However, Gala are a big step up and they should be able to make home advantage count on Thursday.  

The Turkish giants were well beaten in their Champions League qualifier before dropping down to the Europa League as they lost 7-2 on aggregate to PSV Eindhoven, losing the home leg 2-1 after a 5-1 hammering in the Netherlands.  However, Galatasaray did boast an impressive home record last season with 12 wins in 20 games in Turkey’s top flight, six draws and just two defeats.

St Johnstone were fairly strong on the road last season and they managed six wins in their final 10 away games, with two draw and two defeats.   They did fall short against the stronger sides though, with their losses coming at Rangers and Celtic – although they did beat the Gers at Ibrox on penalties in the Scottish Cup.

Both teams have scored in seven of Gala’s last eight home games and that pattern may continue on Thursday, with a 3-1 home win standing out to us in the correct score market.